I'm grateful to report that I've arrived safely in Istanbul, after a genuinely enjoyable pair of flights, first to Franfurt and then here. I met up with my travel companions, allowing for shared experiences which adds to the joy.
A few bearings.
Istanbul is the blue dot on this map:
Slightly closer up you'll notice that our 'hotel' is directly across from the body of water called the Golden Horn.
From the balcony of our hotel room we have beautiful views across the Golden Horn. We are in the 'old city', where Constantnople was, and before that Byzantium.
A panorama of the view from the balcony:
And an evening close up of a beautiful building across the waters:
I don't know what it is, but tomorrow we start exploring in earnest.
